Deformable mirror devices are finding many uses in light deflecting technologies. In operation, the devices are akin to small mirrors which rotate about a fixed axis. The rotation causes light to be deflected under control of the rotation. Thus, in some applications an array of such DMD's are positioned such that as the individual DMD devices, called pixels, are selectively rotated, patterns can be created for various purposes.
The DMD devices are used, typically, in a dark field projection optic arrangement and can be used, for example, in a HDTV application where a large array of pixels are necessary for the desired clarity. These large pixel arrays require close packing of the individual DMD pixels and a high modulation efficiency to maximize brightness as well as low light scattering to maximize contrast.
Light scattering is controlled, in part, by the amount of non-rotatable (dead) surface area exposed to the light. This dead area arises because it is used to provide the torsional hinges which support the rotatable DMD pixels. One such arrangement of such torsional hinges and the construction thereof is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,746, issued to me on May 5, 1987, which patent is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Thus, there exists in the art a need for a DMD matrix which couples high density with high modulation efficiency and which has low inherent light scattering.
There is a further need in the art for such a structure which maximizes the light reflective area for a given density of DMD pixels.
There is a further need in the art for a DMD architecture which will support HDTV applications.